Your search for “Alert” returned the following results:
- Department of Labor Proposes an Increase to the FLSA Exempt Employee Salary Threshold; Is 2023(4) the New 2019 or 2017?
10/10/2023On August 30, 2023 the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced the much anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) which, if implemented, would increase certain otherwise salary exempt employees’ compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) by over 50%…
- How Delaware LLCs Can Protect Themselves Against Abusive and Illegitimate Information Requests by Members or Managers
08/30/2023Knowledge is power, they say. In the context of a Delaware limited liability company (“LLC”), knowledge about the company’s finances, governance, operations, and affairs is found in the company’s books and records. But like any power, the power of a…
- Legal Restrictions on Health Information – Beyond HIPAA
08/29/2023Appropriately so, providers look first to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended (HIPAA), to ensure that they comply with regulations regarding patients’ protected health information (PHI). Nonetheless, one must also look beyond. HIPAA is a…
- Religious Accommodation Undue Hardship Becomes More Difficult to Meet Under Federal Law
08/07/2023Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) requires employers to accommodate any employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs unless accommodation would result in an undue hardship. Historically, denial of a religious accommodation on undue hardship grounds…
- Who Owns Knowledge?
07/28/2023You may have recently heard that the heads of two mega-tech companies, Meta and the company formerly known as Twitter, have exchanged accusations. No, we are not referring to the potential “cage match” but to the allegation that Threads (a…
- Michigan Supreme Court Overrules Court of Appeals Decision in MSSC, Inc. v. Airboss Flexible Products Co.
07/18/2023We write to alert you to a recent development on one of the topics discussed at the Bodman/Kharon/Miller & Chevalier Executive Briefing on Emerging Legal and Regulatory Issues Facing Automotive Companies that took place on May 23, 2023: the MSSC,…
- New “Pregnant Workers Fairness Act” and “Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act” Require Employers to Provide Certain Accommodations for Pregnant Workers
07/10/2023Under the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which took effect on June 27, 2023, employers are now required to provide “reasonable accommodations” to nursing and pregnant employees. Before passage of the PWFA, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) had, for…
- Federal Trade Commission Proposes Broad Ban on Non-Compete Agreements
07/06/2023The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a Proposed Rule which, if implemented, would prohibit employers from entering into or attempting to enter into, “a non-compete clause with a worker; maintain with a worker a non-compete clause; or represent to…
- Michigan Prohibits Hair-Based Racial Discrimination
06/16/2023On June 15, 2023, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 90, which amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (“ELCRA”) to prohibit discrimination based on traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles. This amendment has…
- Who is an Inventor?
06/14/2023Every patent names the individual or individuals who are credited with creating the invention claimed in the patent. Having incorrect names listed potentially risks both ownership and validity of the patent. With today’s collaborative environments and complex inventions, knowing which…
- Michigan Amends Civil Rights Act To Include Abortion Protections
05/25/2023On May 17, 2023, Governor Whitmer signed Senate Bill 147, which amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (“ELCRA”) to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on their decision to terminate a pregnancy. Originally enacted in 1977, ELCRA currently prohibits…
- Sixth Circuit Clarifies an Employee’s Duty to Disclose a Disability and Request an Accommodation
05/01/2023A recent opinion by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Sixth Circuit” or “Court”), Hrdlicka v. General Motors (March 23, 2023), confirmed that an employee must sufficiently alert their employer of the need for a reasonable accommodation in order to…
- The Expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: Part II – Impact on the Provision of Medical Services via Telehealth
04/26/2023As announced by the White House on January 30, 2023, the public health emergency (PHE) is set to end on May 11, 2023. The end of the PHE also brings an end to several flexibilities that were implemented that impact…
- Arbitration of Business Ownership Disputes: Great in Theory, Not Always So in Practice
04/25/2023Business partners and co-owners aren’t always going to see eye-to-eye. While they may share the same goals and interests in the broadest sense – building and sustaining a successful company – everything under that umbrella is subject to debate, disagreement,…
- Opt Out Your European Patents as Unified Patent Court Comes Into Force
04/14/2023The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is coming into force on June 1, 2023. The UPC will have exclusive jurisdiction over new Unified Patents in Europe and shared jurisdiction with national courts over traditional or classic European Patents. The UPC provides…
- One Month Until May 11, 2023 – the Expiration Date for the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
04/11/2023The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) first declared the existence of a public health emergency (PHE) on January 31, 2020. The PHE allowed HHS to implement a number of regulatory waivers and exercise enforcement…
- Michigan Repeals Right-to-Work Law
03/29/2023On March 24, 2023, Michigan repealed its right-to-work law for private-sector employees. The right-to-work law made it unlawful for a union and an employer to agree that payment of union dues and fees are a condition of employment. The repeal…
- Michigan Amends Civil Rights Act To Include LGBTQ Protections
03/17/2023On March 16, 2023, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill that expands the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (“ELCRA”) to include protections for LGBTQ individuals. ELCRA Amendments Originally enacted in 1977, ELCRA currently prohibits employment discrimination based on religion, race,…
- Patent & Trademark Office to Begin Issuing Electronic Patent Grants
03/17/2023The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it will no longer issue patents in a printed “ribbon copy” form as of April 18, 2023. Instead, patents will now only be issued electronically in a digital form. This is…
- NLRB Narrows Permissible Terms in Severance Agreements
03/02/2023The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has ruled that that including certain non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions in severance agreements violates the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In McLaren Macomb (Case 07-CA-263041), the employer permanently furloughed eleven employees and contemporaneously presented…
- Sixth Circuit Upholds Non-Compete Agreement Based on “Flexible Language” in Preliminary Injunction
02/28/2023A recent Sixth Circuit decision upholding an employer’s non-compete agreement with a former employee highlights the need for legal counsel to craft preliminary injunction language in such matters which reflects the unique facts of the subject employee and the employee’s…
- First-of-Its-Kind Lawsuit Pitting Claims of Artistic Expression Involving NFTs Against Trademark Rights Should Have All Mark Owners Considering New Trademark Applications
02/15/2023Regardless of whether your business has any current plans to develop digital goods, including “non-fungible tokens” (NFTs), a recent verdict in a first-of-its-kind case involving trademark rights and digital assets should have all brand owners considering whether to secure new…
- Delaware Court of Chancery Establishes That the Duty of Oversight Extends to Officers
02/08/2023On January 25, 2023, the Delaware Chancery Court issued its ruling in In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2021-0324-JTL (Del. Ch. Jan. 26, 2023), holding for the first time that a corporate officer (not just directors) owes a duty of oversight to the corporation. This ruling expands the original In re Caremark Intern. Inc. Derivative Litigation, 698 A.2d 959 (Del. Ch. 1996), holding that directors have a duty of oversight to officers as well.
- The Dangers of Texting for Business Communications
02/03/2023In the not-so-distant past, there were fewer channels utilized for business communications, and business norms often limited communications to traditional channels even if other methods of communication were available. This made it relatively easy for companies to monitor, retain, and…
- Michigan Court of Appeals Dismisses February 20, 2023 Expansion of Paid Sick Leave and Increases to Minimum Wage
01/26/2023In a 3-0 decision (Mothering Justice v Attorney General) issued today, January 26, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned a July 2022 Court of Claims ruling finding that the Michigan Legislature lacked the constitutional authority to adopt and subsequently amend…